Saturday, October 4, 2014

Quinnochio vs. Mr. Moneybags?

The nonsense of the campaign cycle this time around for governor has reached a new level of triviality.

It was several months ago that Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Rauner gave us the image of Quinnocchio -- a Pinocchio-inspired character with a huge nose on account of all the "lies" he tells.

RAUNER HAS CARRIED this image out to the point where there have often been sightings at political rallies of "Quinnocchio" carrying large signs meant to make us think our incumbent governor is a compulsive liar.

On a serious note, I have always thought the tactic was stupid because the allegations Rauner claims Pat Quinn to have lied about are usually a matter of political spin. Rauner wants to view the world in a certain way, and is upset that Quinn and his backers don't agree with his viewpoint.

In short, it is too easy to dismiss Rauner's claims of "lies" as less than honest.

But anybody who thinks that Quinn is somehow playing politics at a higher moral level is naïve. The governor showed he is just as capable of diving into the realms of triviality and nonsense just as much as Rauner has done.

HOW ELSE SHOULD we interpret the creation of "Mr. Moneybags" and the game of "Rauneropoly," all inspired by the Monopoly game that is meant to make Rauner's business dealings (he claims they make him more qualified to be governor) to be somewhat short of legitimate and bordering on criminal.

For those of you wishing to see this nonsense, check out the rauneropoly.com web site, which is paid for by "Taxpayers for Quinn."

I found it interesting that the first thing I was directed to tells me that Rauneropoly is a game about "get(ting) the cash and run." The "In Jail" space tells us of Rauner business associates like Stu Levine, John Messinger and and Gary Monroe who have served time in incarceration.

As though we should think it is just a matter of time before Rauner himself winds up the focus of some law enforcement investigation. Then again, Rauner has repeatedly been trying to create the implication that Quinn himself will someday face indictment, conviction and incarceration for various actions during his five-plus years in office, such as the use of state funds for the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative, a program that causes Rauner to use the phrase "slush fund" all too often.

WE'RE ALSO TOLD in Rauneropoly on :"FBI Boulevard" about "$13 million in fraud" alleged to have been committed by Rauner, and how one can spend $100,000 on a parking space for oneself.

It's the hostile trivia and nonsense that gets spewed in every single campaign, only this time elevated to the level of comic book-type tactics. Perhaps that makes it seem less hostile. Although I see it as more trivial.

Just one question I'd have of the Quinn campaign. The imagery offered up in Rauneropoly is so much like Monopoly that I'm wondering if someone is going to try to knock it down as a copyright infringement of the board game.

Just like Quinn had to take down an early Internet-only campaign ad that claimed Rauner was just like C. Montgomery Burns of "The Simpsons."

ALTHOUGH I'D SEE such a tactic as refusing to acknowledge the allegations made by preferring to knock the so-called messenger.

Although I think all of this type of stuff trivializes things to the point where it makes both candidates look stupid. I think it shows a disrespect for the voters and the electoral process.

It makes me wonder that if one wants to turn this into a game, perhaps it could be chess.

Put both Quinnocchio and Mr. Moneybags on a chess board with the more traditional pieces. Then, whenever the knights leap over them, their horses could inadvertently take a dump on both images. Because that's what too much of campaign accusations feel like for the rest of us.

I am a Chicago-area freelance writer who has reported on various political and legal beats. I wrote "Hispanic" issues columns for United Press International, observed up close the Statehouse Scene in Springfield, Ill., the Cook County Board in Chicago and municipal government in places like Calumet City, Ill., and Gary, Ind. For a time, I also wrote about agriculture. Trust me when I say the symbolic stench of partisan politics (particularly when directed against people due to their ethnicity) is far nastier than any odor that could come from a farm animal.